Tacolandia 2015's Final Lineup Announced

Los Angeles is undoubtedly the taco capital of the United States, a magical city where mounds of marinated meat cradled in warm tortillas are available around the clock in every imaginable style. If you wish you could dive mouth-first into a sea of taco-ready pastor (or grilled vegetables, whatevs), then L.A. Weekly's Tacolandia festival on June 6 will make your taco dreams come true.

Now in its third year, the sold-out event is expanding into even more taco insanity — and the final lineup of 80 vendors (that's double the number from last year, for those keeping track) has just been announced.

New additions include South L.A. street cart All Flavor No Grease, East L.A. institution El Tepeyac and Valle de Guadalupe's famed Corazon de Tierra restaurant (rated one of the 50 best places to eat in Latin America). They join previously announced local taco kings Tacos Puntas Cabras, Guerrilla Tacos, Kogi BBQ and Mariscos Jalisco. Prominent taco chefs from Baja California, Orange County and San Diego also will be in attendance.

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"Tacolandia represents my personal picks of the best tacos in L.A. and beyond, regardless of whether they are traditional or nontraditional," says Mexican food maestro and event curator Bill Esparza. "I strongly believe that every vendor at a food event should be outstanding, so to this end, our list draws mostly from Los Angeles, but we also source from nearby Mexico, San Diego and Orange County."

Tacolandia will be held in the historic El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument and, in addition to tacos galore, will feature entertainment from electro-cumbia group Cumbia Machin, Southwest singer-songwriter De'Anza and L.A.'s bridge between '50s rock & roll and Latin punk, Thee Commons.

The Vendy Awards (aka the Oscars of street food) will again be on hand to crown six of the festival's SoCal and Mexican taco purveyors with honors such as Best Traditional Taco, Best New-School Taco, Best Street Taco and Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sarah Bennett is a contributor at the L.A. Weekly and has spent nearly a decade as a freelance writer covering food, music, craft beer, arts, culture and all sorts of bizarro things that interest her for local, regional and national publications.